The Gulf Coast region of the United States comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are known as the Gulf States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the All Gulf States are located in the Southern region of the United States. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive

Contents 1 Geography and climate 2 Economic activities 3 History 3.1 Metropolitan areas 4 See also 5 Notes

Geography and climate

The Gulf Coast is intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Land along the Gulf Coast tends to be low and flat, and much of it is (or was) marshland. In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject The western portions of the Gulf Coast include many barrier islands and peninsulas, including the 130 mile (210 km) Padre Island and Galveston Island. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. Padre Island (the world's longest Barrier island) is part of the U Galveston Island is a Barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States about 50 miles (80 kilometers southeast of Houston. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland. Even though it is a gulf, geographically it is technically part of the east coast of the US, even though it is not popularly thought of as such.

Because of its proximity to the subtropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast area is vulnerable to hurricanes. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding Floods and severe thunderstorms also affect the region; tornadoes are infrequent at the coast but do occur (they are much more frequent in the inland portions of those states). A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge A tornado is a violent rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a Cumulonimbus cloud or in rare cases the base of a Cumulus Earthquakes are virtually unheard of, but a surprise 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, 2006, was felt from New Orleans to Tampa. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[1]

Economic activities

The Gulf Coast is a major center of economic activity. The marshlands along the Louisiana and Texas coasts provide breeding grounds and nurseries for ocean life that drive the fishing and shrimping industries. The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking culturing processing preserving storing transporting marketing or selling fish or fish products True shrimp are swimming decapod Crustaceans classified in the Infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh The Port of South Louisiana (between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Laplace) and the Port of Houston are two of the ten busiest ports in the world by cargo volume. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest volume shipping Port in the Western Hemisphere and 9th largest in the world New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Baton Rouge (French Bâton-Rouge ˌbætən ˈruːdʒ in English, and in French) is the capital city of Louisiana. LaPlace is a Census-designated place (CDP in St John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the east bank of the Mississippi The Port of Houston is the Port of Houston Texas, the fourth-largest city in the United States. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo ^[2] In fact, as of 2004 seven of the top ten busiest ports in the U. S. are on the Gulf Coast. ^[3] The discovery of oil and gas deposits along the coast and offshore, combined with easy access to shipping, have made the Gulf Coast the heart of the U. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, S. petrochemical industry. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin Besides this the region features other important industries including aerospace and biomedical research, as well as older industries such as agriculture and, especially since the development of the Gulf Coast beginning in the 1950s and the increase in wealth throughout the United States, tourism. This article is about the field of research and industry for the corporation see The Aerospace Corporation Aerospace comprises the The Texas Medical Center, with one of the highest densities of clinical facilities for patient care basic science and Translational research of any location is the largest

History

The history of the Gulf Coast is an important part of United States history; as economically important as the Gulf Coast is to the United States today, it arguably once held an even greater position of prominence in the U. S.

The first Europeans to settle the Gulf Coast were primarily the French and the Spanish. France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries The Louisiana Purchase, the Texas Revolution, and the Mexican–American War made the Gulf Coast a part of the United States during first half of the 19th century. For the film see Louisiana Purchase (film. The Louisiana Purchase (French Vente de la Louisiane "Louisiana Sale" The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was fought from October 2 1835 to April 21 1836 between Mexico and the Texas (Tejas portion of the Mexican As the U. S. population continued to expand its frontiers westward, the Gulf Coast was a natural magnet in the South providing access to shipping lanes and both national and international commerce. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive The development of sugar and cotton production (enabled by slavery) allowed the South to prosper. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Slavery in the United States began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth By the mid 19th century, the South, including the Gulf, by some standards was populated by the nation's wealthiest people. The city of New Orleans in particular, being situated as a key to commerce on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf, had become the largest U. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to S. city not on the Atlantic seaboard and the fourth largest in the U. The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard" refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern S. overall.

Two major events were turning points in the earlier history of the Gulf Coast region. The first was the American Civil War, which caused severe damage to some economic sectors in the South, including the Gulf Coast. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive The second event was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. At the end of the 19th century Galveston was, with New Orleans, one of the most developed cities in the region. "Galveston" redirects here For the town in the US state of Indiana see Galveston Indiana. The city had the third busiest port in the U. S. ^[4] and its financial district was known as the "Wall Street of the Southwest. " ^[5] The storm mostly destroyed the city (which has never regained its former glory) and set back development in the region.

Since these darker times the Gulf Coast has redeveloped dramatically over the course of the 20th century. The petrochemical industry, launched with the major discoveries of oil in Texas and spurred on by further discoveries in the Gulf waters, has been a vehicle for development in the central and western Gulf which has spawned development on a variety of fronts in these regions. Texas in particular has benefited tremendously from this industry over the course of the 20th century and economic diversification has made the state a magnet for population and home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other U. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Please do not add the complete list of fortune 500 companies The list is copyrighted by Fortune which makes money by selling the content S. state. Florida has grown as well, driven to a great extent by its long established tourism industry but also by its position as a gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the As of 2006, these two states are the second and fourth most populous states in the nation, respectively (see this article). This is a list of states of the United States by population (with inhabited non-state jurisdictions included for comparison as of July 1, 2007, according to the Other areas of the Gulf Coast have benefited less, though economic development fueled by tourism has greatly increased property values along the coast, and is now a severe danger to the valuable but fragile ecosystems of the Gulf Coast.

Metropolitan areas

The following are the 10 largest metropolitan areas along the Gulf Coast of the United States. See also Metropolitan Statistical Area, Core Based Statistical Area Table of United States Core Based Statistical AreasThe United States Census Bureau has defined

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Population	State
1	Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown	5,539,949	Texas
2	Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater	2,587,967	Florida
3	New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner	1,319,589	Louisiana
4	Sarasota–Bradenton–Venice	651,862	Florida
5	Mobile–Daphne–Fairhope	588,246	Alabama
6	Lafayette-Acadiana	538. Sugar Land is a city located in Fort Bend County along the Gulf Coast region in the U Baytown is a City in Chambers and Harris Counties in the Gulf Coast region of the U Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. St Petersburg (often shortened to St Pete) is a city in Pinellas County Florida, United States. Clearwater is a City located in Pinellas County Florida, USA, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Metairie (local pronunciations /ˈmɛtəɹi/ /ˈmɛtɹi/ is a Census-designated place (CDP in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States Kenner is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the state of Florida in the United States. Bradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 17764 at the 2000 census Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Daphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, USA on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on a sloping plateau along the cliffs and shoreline of Mobile Bay. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Lafayette is a City in and the Parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) (L'Acadiane is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population 470	Louisiana
7	Cape Coral–Fort Myers	514,295	Florida
8	Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent	437,135	Florida
9	Corpus Christi	409,741	Texas
10	Beaumont–Port Arthur	383,443	Texas

See also

• Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
• Geography of the United States
• List of U.S. ports
• Florida Panhandle
• Emerald Coast
• West Florida

Notes

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